Probably the #1 thing I realized from reading 'Eat to Live' and 'Becoming Vegan' was that I haven't been eating enough dark leafy greens. In particular, all of Dr. Furman's information about the nutrient density of greens has inspired me to eat more salads. In the past, I was never a big salad eater. I think I even purposefully avoided eating salads because I didn't want to perpetuate the stereotype that vegans only eat lettuce. But now, I get so excited about a huge plate of greenery. I feel like such a rabbit, but I tell you, it's all good. I can feeeel my cells come alive!! haha
So, I was browsing online for some good salad ideas, and came across this 'Polynesian Salad with Curry Dressing' from vegweb.com. The ingredients don't seem like they would go together (bananas and curry?), but oh my gaw, this is my new favorite salad. The dressing is spicy, sweet, and tangy, all at once, and it compliments the other salad ingredients so well. The bananas and raisins add the perfect amount of sweetness to the salad. I really have no idea what Polynesian cuisine is meant to taste or look like, but this is just delicious.
I also took a cue from some of the other people's photos on the recipe page, and arranged the carrots, cucumbers, and bananas around the edge of the plate. Doesn't it look grand? I literally ate this gigantic plate all by myself.
One time, instead of the bananas and cucumbers, I added tofu cubes and red bell peppers. It was one of the best salads I've ever had. The star of the salad is really the curry dressing. As long as the dressing tastes good, it really doesn't matter what veggies you use. The only change I made to the dressing was to make mine fat-free. The original recipe calls for 1 cup of olive oil (yikes!), but it still came out delicious without any oil at all.
One might not think that a salad can fill anyone up, but this was indeed very filling. Salads can definitely be an 'entree' rather than just a 'side dish'.